PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 20, 2014Interleukin-27 (IL-27), a member of the interleukin family of cytokines that help regulate the immune system, has a mainly anti-inflammatory role in the body, and its dysfunction has been implicated in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease. More recently, IL-27's proinflammatory activity and role in chronic inflammatory diseases is becoming increasingly clear, and a new Review article that explores the potential to target a range of diseases that share common IL-27-activated mechanisms is presented in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the JICR website until November 20, 2014.

Christopher Wynick, Carlene Petes, and Katrina Gee, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, explain how IL-27 can contribute to the control of both anti- and proinflammatory responses depending on the predominant type of immune response elicited in the body, the disease type, and the disease severity. They focus primarily on the proinflammatory activity of the cytokine in the article "Interleukin-27 Mediates Inflammation During Chronic Disease".

"IL-27 is emerging as a significant determinant of the character of inflammatory response and this review provides an important perspective," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio.

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About the Journal

Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. JICR is an official journal of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) website.

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Interleukin-27: Can a cytokine with both pro & anti-inflammatory activity make a good drug target?

Oct 17, 2014 by Alvin Powell In his talk, Adapting Species to a Changing World: The Potential of Genome Editing, Professor George Church spoke about his efforts to engineer a mammoth from its closest living relative, the African elephant, while also discussing the primary goal of such technology: improving human health. Credit: Ann Wang

Mammoth DNA in recovered cells frozen for thousands of years is likely too fragmented to clone an animal, according to Harvard geneticist George Church. So he's working instead to engineer one genetically from a close relative, the Asian elephant.

Genetic studies have shown that the Asian elephant is more closely related to the extinct mammoth than to its closest living relative, the African elephant. That provides scientists with the basic stock to build a mammoth, said Church, the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.

"The Asian elephant and the mammoth are really close, closer than the African elephant," Church said during a lecture yesterday. "We're assuming that the Asian elephant is basically right, a mutant [mammoth] that has a problem living at minus 50 C."

Church acknowledged there are important differences between the two animals and said current efforts are aimed at one key contrast: cold tolerance. Increasing that in Asian elephants would mean changing several traits, such as adding a double fur coat and a thick layer of fat to keep out the cold, and reducing ear size to cut heat loss. Church said researchers are testing possible changes in lab cultures and are still several years from trying them out in an elephant.

Church's mammoth work is part of a kaleidoscope of research efforts fueled by genetic engineering, he said. While health and medical goals are driving down the price of genome analysis and fostering the development of new technology, some of the most far-reaching applicationslike resurrecting the mammoth and other extinct creatureslie outside human health.

Another potential non-medical use involves using genetic engineering to manage existing species, such as building malaria resistance into mosquitoes to minimize the human suffering the disease causes, or "de-evolving" the herbicide resistance weeds develop over time to restore a herbicide's effectiveness.

Church spoke at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, one of the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture (HMSC). His presentation, "Adapting Species to a Changing World: The Potential of Genome Editing," was before a crowd of several hundred in a packed Geological Lecture Hall. He was introduced by HMSC Executive Director Jane Pickering.

Though much of Church's talk focused on "de-extinction" and the genetic engineering of species, he also discussed the primary goal of such technology: improving human health. With the cost of decoding the genome having dropped from $3 billion to $999, cheap, widespread genetic analysis may help people understand their risk for genetically influenced ailments. Rapid, portable analysis could be used in the environment to detect potential infectious agents, and in the doctor's office to guide more effective care.

Church acknowledged that many medical conditions have a complex genetic background and are influenced by several genessometimes even several hundred genesbut said there can be a relative handful that outstrip others in importance and so provide therapeutic targets. For example, height has been shown to be influenced by 700 genes, but just a couple, affecting growth hormone production and use, are known to have a sizeable effect on getting taller.

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Genetic engineering may undercut human diseases, but also could help restore extinct species, researcher says

Meth tweaker rapes teddybear, arrested due to DNA evidence
An ice fiend in the UK nearly pulled off the perfect crime when he rummaged an allotment shed (that #39;s a tool shed for you Yanks) for gankable items. And he would have gotten away with it...

By: TomoNews US

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Meth tweaker rapes teddybear, arrested due to DNA evidence - Video

PROOF OF GOD: JESUS Found in DNA, Quantum Physics, God Particle, Entanglement Theory, Bible Codes
A look at modern science that disproves and debunks all illuminati evolution lies. Quantum Physics, DNA, God Particle, Bible Codes all PROVE YESHUA JESUS IN HEBREW IS THE SON OF GOD.

By: Fisher Men

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PROOF OF GOD: JESUS Found in DNA, Quantum Physics, God Particle, Entanglement Theory, Bible Codes - Video

Let #39;s Play Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme: Episode 4: Big Booby Bitch
Bleh. It #39;s gross. Get away from me.

By: TheNerdHerd

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Let's Play Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme: Episode 4: Big Booby Bitch - Video

Transhumanism - Human Genetic Engineering - Ultimate Metasolution to humanity #39;s Metaproblems
Find out why at Project Prometheus we feel the ultimate metasolution to solving humanity #39;s problems is to work at the foundational building block - ourselves...

By: Project Prometheus

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Transhumanism - Human Genetic Engineering - Ultimate Metasolution to humanity's Metaproblems - Video

Genetic Engineering - DNA Extraction Part 1 - Anytime Education
Mr James Dundon explains DNA extraction/isolation. DNA is extracted from human cells for a variety of reasons. With a pure sample of DNA you can test a newborn for a genetic disease, analyze...

By: James Dundon

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Genetic Engineering - DNA Extraction Part 1 - Anytime Education - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 16, 2014Delivering traditional emergency medical care at ground zero of natural disasters and military conflicts is challenging. First responders trained in simple integrative medicine approaches such as acupuncture, hypnosis, or biofeedback can provide adjunctive treatment to help relieve patients' pain and stress. How to teach and utilize modified techniques and their potential benefit are described in a Review article in Medical Acupuncture, a peer-reviewed journal from by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Medical Acupuncture website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/acu.2014.1063 until November 16, 2014.

In the article "The Roles of Acupuncture and Other Components of Integrative Medicine in Cataclysmic Natural Disasters and Military Conflicts" Richard Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Acupuncture, a retired Air Force Colonel, and current Director of the USAF Acupuncture Center, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Wayne Jonas, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Samueli Institute (Alexandria, VA); and coauthors from InsideSurgery, LLC (Wayne, PA) and Samueli Institute present integrative health care approaches suitable for use by emergency responders and rescuers that do not require extensive equipment, facilities, or supplies.

"These approaches are usually inexpensive and nontoxic, are inherently low-risk, do not require complicated delivery methods, and can be pushed far forward in disaster relief effort even when other resources cannot be delivered," state the authors. "Such approaches may provide significant and rapid relief for victims of disasters and wars, as well as for their caregivers."

The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the United States Air Force Medical Corps, the Air Force at large, or the Department of Defense.

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About the Journal

Medical Acupuncture, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal presents evidence-based clinical articles, case reports, and research findings that integrate concepts from traditional and modern forms of acupuncture with allopathic medicine. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Medical Acupuncture website at http://www.liebertpub.com/acu.

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Should first responders use acupuncture & integrative medicine in natural disasters & battle zones?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 15, 2014Palliative care provided in the hospital offers known clinical benefits, and a new study shows that inpatient palliative care can also significantly lower the cost of hospitalization and the rate of readmissions. Further, the study shows the hospital can get the expertise it needs through a collaborative relationship with a community hospice. The results of a comparative study are published in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Palliative Medicine website until November 15, 2014.

In the article "A Hospice-Hospital Partnership: Reducing Hospitalization Costs and 30-Day Readmissions among Seriously Ill Adults (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jpm.2013.0612)," John Tangeman, MD, Christopher Kerr, MD, PhD, and Pei Grant, PhD, Center for Hospice and Palliative Care (Cheektowaga, NY), and Carole Rudra, PhD, MPH, Rudra Research (Buffalo, NY), compared cost per hospital admission and readmission rates among patients who received inpatient palliative care to those who did not at two hospitals in western New York.

"Palliative care has been proven to deliver on the value equation," says Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Palliative Medicine and Clinical Professor of Medicine, Ohio University. "To be successful, every health system will want to maximize its investment in palliative care to deliver the highest quality of care at the lowest cost."

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Journal of Palliative Medicine is the official journal of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) and an official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association

About the Journal

Journal of Palliative Medicine, published monthly in print and online, is an interdisciplinary journal that reports on the clinical, educational, legal, and ethical aspects of care for seriously ill and dying patients. The Journal includes coverage of the latest developments in drug and non-drug treatments for patients with life-threatening diseases including cancer, AIDS, cardiac disease, pulmonary, neurological, and respiratory conditions, and other diseases. The Journal reports on the development of palliative care programs around the United States and the world and on innovations in palliative care education. Tables of content and a sample issue can be viewed on the Journal of Palliative Medicine website.

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Study shows inpatient palliative care reduces hospital costs and readmissions

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 16, 2014To treat the debilitating anemia associated with reduced erythropoietin (EPO) production by the kidneys in chronic renal disease, patients are often given recombinant human EPO to increase hemoglobin levels. But that treatment has risks. A new approach that uses a small interfering RNA (siRNA) drug to stimulate natural EPO production by the liver has shown promising results in nonhuman primates, as reported in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers. The article is available free on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website until November 16, 2014.

Marc T. Abrams and colleagues, Merck Research Laboratories (West Point, PA and Boston, MA), designed a siRNA drug that targets and inhibits expression of the EGLN1 gene, thereby blocking production of a protein called prolyl-4-hydrolase 2 (PHD2). The liver normally makes only small amounts of EPO in adult primates and humans, but one dose of the siRNA drug led to increased levels of EPO and hemoglobin in the blood of the primates. The siRNA effect was dose-dependent and was sustained for at least two months, report the authors in the article "A Single Dose of EGLN1 siRNA Yields Increased Erythropoiesis in Nonhuman Primates."

"The translational relevance of this paper is that it successfully advances the in vivo therapeutic investigation of PHD inhibitors from previous mouse-based work to achieve increased serum EPO and hemoglobin in a primate model, " says Executive Editor Graham C. Parker, PhD, The Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI.

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About the Journal

Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is an authoritative, peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that focuses on cutting-edge basic research, therapeutic applications, and drug development using nucleic acids or related compounds to alter gene expression. The Journal is under the editorial leadership of Co-Editors-in-Chief Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD, Duke Translational Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, and C.A. Stein, MD, PhD, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA; and Executive Editor Graham C. Parker, PhD. Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is the official journal of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website.

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Novel RNAi-based therapy for anemia stimulates liver to produce EPO

Tyranny Totalitarianism Past, Present Future: The Future
What is the likely shape of tyranny in the future? Will it resemble the soft-despotism of Tocqueville? Will it be Orwellian political thought-control? Or the gradual emergence of pure hedonism...

By: Dartmouth

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Tyranny & Totalitarianism Past, Present & Future: The Future - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 16, 2014Delivering traditional emergency medical care at ground zero of natural disasters and military conflicts is challenging. First responders trained in simple integrative medicine approaches such as acupuncture, hypnosis, or biofeedback can provide adjunctive treatment to help relieve patients' pain and stress. How to teach and utilize modified techniques and their potential benefit are described in a Review article in Medical Acupuncture, a peer-reviewed journal from by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Medical Acupuncture website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/acu.2014.1063 until November 16, 2014.

In the article "The Roles of Acupuncture and Other Components of Integrative Medicine in Cataclysmic Natural Disasters and Military Conflicts" Richard Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Acupuncture, a retired Air Force Colonel, and current Director of the USAF Acupuncture Center, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Wayne Jonas, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Samueli Institute (Alexandria, VA); and coauthors from InsideSurgery, LLC (Wayne, PA) and Samueli Institute present integrative health care approaches suitable for use by emergency responders and rescuers that do not require extensive equipment, facilities, or supplies.

"These approaches are usually inexpensive and nontoxic, are inherently low-risk, do not require complicated delivery methods, and can be pushed far forward in disaster relief effort even when other resources cannot be delivered," state the authors. "Such approaches may provide significant and rapid relief for victims of disasters and wars, as well as for their caregivers."

The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the United States Air Force Medical Corps, the Air Force at large, or the Department of Defense.

###

About the Journal

Medical Acupuncture, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal presents evidence-based clinical articles, case reports, and research findings that integrate concepts from traditional and modern forms of acupuncture with allopathic medicine. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Medical Acupuncture website at http://www.liebertpub.com/acu.

Read more here:
Should first responders use acupuncture & integrative medicine in natural disasters & battle zones?

Tyranny Totalitarianism Past, Present Future: The Future
What is the likely shape of tyranny in the future? Will it resemble the soft-despotism of Tocqueville? Will it be Orwellian political thought-control? Or the...

By: Dartmouth

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Tyranny & Totalitarianism Past, Present & Future: The Future - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

14-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, October 14, 2014 Big Data analytics are helping to provide answers to many complex problems in science and society, but they have not contributed to a better understanding climate science, despite an abundance of climate data. When it comes to analyzing the climate system, Big Data methods alone are not enough and sound scientific theory must guide data modeling techniques and results interpretation, according to an insightful article in Big Data, the highly innovative, peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Big Data website.

In "A Big Data Guide to Understanding Climate Change: The Case for Theory-Guided Data Science," James Faghmous, PhD and Vipin Kumar, PhD, The University of Minnesota--Twin Cities, explore the challenges and opportunities for mining large climate datasets and the subtle differences that are needed compared to traditional Big Data methods if accurate conclusions are to be drawn. The authors discuss the importance of combining scientific theory and First Principles with Big Data analytics and use examples from existing research to illustrate their novel approach.

"This paper is a great example of leveraging the abundance of climate data with powerful analytical methods, scientific theory, and solid data engineering to explain and predict important climate change phenomena," says Big Data Editor-in-Chief Vasant Dhar, Co-Director, Center for Business Analytics, Stern School of Business, New York University.

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About the Journal

Big Data , published quarterly in print and online, facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, analysts, statisticians, business leaders, and policymakers to improve operations, profitability, and communications within their organizations. Spanning a broad array of disciplines focusing on novel big data technologies, policies, and innovations, the Journal brings together the community to address the challenges and discover new breakthroughs and trends living within this information. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Big Data website.

About the Publisher

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Can big data make sense of climate change?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

14-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 14, 2014For the 5-15% of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) who will have lingering physical, behavioral, or cognitive problems 3 to 6 months after their injury, identification of this at-risk population is essential for early intervention. Existing models used to predict poor outcomes after mTBI are unsatisfactory, according to a new study, and new, more relevant predictive factors are different than those used in cases of moderate or severe TBI, as described in the study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/neu.2014.3384 until November 14, 2014.

Hester F. Lingsma and a multidisciplinary, international team of authors evaluated two existing prognostic models for mTBI in patients selected from the TRACK-TBI Pilot observational study carried out at three medical centers in the U.S. Both models performed poorly. Based on further analysis, the authors identified older age, pre-existing psychiatric conditions, and less education as the three strongest predictors of poor outcomes, as they report in the article "Outcome Prediction after Mild and Complicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: External Validation of Existing Models and Identification of New Predictors Using the TRACK-TBI Pilot Study."

John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma and Professor, Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, notes that, "this is an extremely important study utilizing the TRACK-TBI database. This meticulously performed investigation highlights the dangers in assessing outcome following mTBI, emphasizing that other comorbid factors such as older age, preexisting psychiatric disorders, and less education, perhaps a function of socioeconomic status, can negatively impact outcome. This important communication should be considered routinely as we move forward in our assessments of outcomes following mTBI, whether or not these outcomes are framed in the context of advanced imaging, biomarker evaluation, and/or other metabolic/functional screens."

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About the Journal

Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://www.liebertpub.com/neu.

About the Publisher

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Current models for predicting outcomes after mild traumatic brain injury perform poorly

What is genetic engineering? Genetic engineering is the process of manually adding new DNA to an organism. The goal is to add one or more new traits that are not already found in that organism. Examples of genetically engineered (transgenic) organisms currently on the market include plants with resistance to some insects, plants that can tolerate herbicides, and crops with modified oil content.

Understanding Genetic Engineering: Basic Biology To understand how genetic engineering works, there are a few key biology concepts that must be understood.

Small segments of DNA are called genes. Each gene holds the instructions for how to produce a single protein. This can be compared to a recipe for making a food dish. A recipe is a set of instructions for making a single dish.

An organism may have thousands of genes. The set of all genes in an organism is called a genome. A genome can be compared to a cookbook of recipes that makes that organism what it is. Every cell of every living organism has a cookbook.

CONCEPT #2: Why are proteins important? Proteins do the work in cells. They can be part of structures (such as cell walls, organelles, etc). They can regulate reactions that take place in the cell. Or they can serve as enzymes, which speed-up reactions. Everything you see in an organism is either made of proteins or the result of a protein action.

How is genetic engineering done? Genetic engineering, also called transformation, works by physically removing a gene from one organism and inserting it into another, giving it the ability to express the trait encoded by that gene. It is like taking a single recipe out of a cookbook and placing it into another cookbook.

1) First, find an organism that naturally contains the desired trait.

2) The DNA is extracted from that organism. This is like taking out the entire cookbook.

3) The one desired gene (recipe) must be located and copied from thousands of genes that were extracted. This is called gene cloning.

4) The gene may be modified slightly to work in a more desirable way once inside the recipient organism.

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UNL's AgBiosafety for Educators

Genetic engineering leads to glow-in-the-dark plants
A small biotech company in San Francisco is using genetic engineering to develop plants that emit their own light,

By: CBC News

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Genetic engineering leads to glow-in-the-dark plants - Video

Genetic engineering is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including thetransfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. The techniques involve sophisticated manipulations of genetic material and other biologically important chemicals.

Genes are the chemical blueprints that determine an organism's traits. Moving genes from one organism to another transfers those traits. Through genetic engineering, organisms can be given targeted combinations of new genesand therefore new combinations of traitsthat do not occur in nature and, indeed, cannot be developed by natural means. Such an approach is different from classical plant and animal breeding, which operates through selection across many generations for traits of interest. Classical breeding operates on traits, only indirectly selecting genes, whereas biotechnology targets genes, attempting to influence traits. The potential of biotechnology is to rapidly accelerate the rate of progress and efficiency of breeding.

Novel organisms

Nature can produce organisms with new gene combinations through sexual reproduction. A brown cow bred to a yellow cow may produce a calf of a completely new color. But reproductive mechanisms limit the number of new combinations. Cows must breed with other cows (or very near relatives). A breeder who wants a purple cow would be able to breed toward one only if the necessary purple genes were available somewhere in a cow or a near relative to cows. A genetic engineer has no such restriction. If purple genes are available anywhere in naturein a sea urchin or an iristhose genes could be used in attempts to produce purple cows. This unprecedented ability to shuffle genes means that genetic engineers can concoct gene combinations that would never be found in nature.

New risks

Genetic engineering is therefore qualitatively different from existing breeding technologies. It is a set of technologies for altering the traits of living organisms by inserting genetic material that has been manipulated to extract it from its source and successfully insert it in functioning order in target organisms. Because of this, genetic engineering may one day lead to the routine addition of novel genes that have been wholly synthesized in the laboratory.

In addition to desired benefits, novel organisms may bring novel risks as well. These risks must be carefully assessed to make sure that all effectsboth desired and unintendedare benign. UCS advocates caution, examination of alternatives, and careful, contextual, case-by-case evaluation of genetic enginering applications within an overall framework that moves agricultural systems of food production toward sustainability.

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What Is Genetic Engineering? | Union of Concerned Scientists

Can we bring animals back from extinction? - THE BIG FUTURE
Like in Jurassic Park, genetic engineering might allow us to save endangered species or even bring back extinct animals. Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=theverge...

By: The Verge

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Can we bring animals back from extinction? - THE BIG FUTURE - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

9-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 9, 2014Excessive and often lethal blood levels of bilirubin can result from mutations in a single gene that are the cause of the metabolic disease known as Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 1 (CNS1). A new gene therapy approach to correcting this metabolic error achieved significant, long-lasting reductions in bilirubin levels in a mouse model of CNS1 and is described in an Open Access article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Human Gene Therapy website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/hum.2013.233.

In "Life-Long Correction of Hyperbilirubinemia with a Neonatal Liver-Specific AAV-Mediated Gene Transfer in a Lethal Mouse Model of CriglerNajjar Syndrome," Giulia Bortolussi and coauthors from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; Centro Studi Fegato, Fondazione Italiana Fegato; and University of Trieste (Trieste, Italy) and Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic), present details of the adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapy approach they used to correct the metabolic disorder that causes hyperbilirubinemia in CNS1. The researchers reported 70-80% reductions in plasma bilirubin levels early on among treated animals, with about 50% reductions maintained throughout the study. The authors compared the effectiveness of two delivery strategies: targeting the therapeutic gene directly to the liver or, preferably, to skeletal muscle. They discuss the implications of the different results they obtained with each approach.

"CNS1 is an outstanding model for in vivo gene therapy with easily measured and clinically relevant metabolic endpoints," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

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About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of contents and sample issues for all three publications may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website at http://www.liebertpub.com/hgt.

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Long-term treatment success using gene therapy to correct a lethal metabolic disorder